Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you were overwhelmed by the tasks that were your responsibility? You may know that you need to continue to give them your attention, but to do so, you need to take a “time out”, you need to be alone for a bit, just to put all in perspective. God, please be with me.
It seems that Jesus, in the fullness of his humanity experienced that need, for in today’s Gospel from St. Mark we hear of the busyness of his ministry, the intense response by the people of the need to be healed, both physically and spiritually. And again, Jesus modeled for us the very real need to step away to take time to pray.
If Jesus needs time to pray to his Father, how much more do we need the same?
To be sure this past year has impacted our lives in a way that we have never known; the pandemic, the changes in how we work or attend school, the limited way in which we gather at Church, the political climate and the racial and social divide that seems to be on the increase. All of this might be overwhelming us, just as Jesus may have been overwhelmed by the complexity of public ministry.
We need to pray more today than perhaps any other time in our lives!
It is important to nurture your spiritual life with prayer, being in the presence of God. God is always there for us; however, we fail to take ample opportunity to be with Him. Yet, by faith, we know that our strength to continue our journey in this life is found in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus, who proclaimed he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, leads the way to our finding true peace and happiness. We, of course, need to continue all that we are responsible for in our lives, but we may have to adjust the amount of time we spend in prayer that we might draw strength and wisdom to continue our tasks with the grace made known to us in time alone with God.
Let us all be more committed to daily, and at times, hourly prayer. Let us remember that God is to be the very center of our lives. So that, just as Jesus turned to his Father, we turn to ours, the Father who unites us all as a people of God. We can only imagine that God is waiting to hear from us as his knowledge of our lives and the depth of his love are immeasurable. And let us with grateful hearts, praise him and thank him for his constant presence. God be with us we pray.
In faith,
Deb Rudolph
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